The first Chinese “Belt and Road” asset-backed security will be issued by the Shanghai Stock Exchange, according to Caixin Global, widening the range of bonds that can be used to finance the project.
The issuer of the RMB 5.5 billion ($867.1 million) is Chinese pulp and paper producer Sinar Mas Paper Investment Co. Ltd. Funds raised from the bond’s issuance will go towards the company’s import/export operations in China’s Jiangsu province.
China’s Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) had previously asked the country’s two largest stock exchanges, in Shanghai and Shenzhen, to support the issuing of bonds to fund the Belt and Road project. According to the CSRC on Friday, the two stock exchanges have approved around RMB 50 billion of bonds to be issued by seven onshore and offshore companies.
The first Chinese company to issue a Belt and Road bond was cement producer HongShi Holding Group Co. Ltd in January.